Behind the Scenes: Shadow Game
by Ranko twin
Summary: What if The Shadow Game was a movie? We all know what happened in The Shadow Game, but we don't know what happened behind the scenes. What went on to make the "movie" possible. What went on behind the cameras that we didn't see? Yuugi is a young actor working with more experienced people and wants to be taken seriously, how can he when his crush is playing his love interest? R
1. Chapter 1

**Ranko: Hello everyone! I'm pretty sure most of you that know what The Shadow Game Trilogy is also know what this story is. **

**Yuugi: That is right! This is the spinoff story that Ranko created that basically treats The Shadow Game as if it were a movie! This is The Shadow Game: Behind the Scenes!**

**Yami: Why is she writing this, you may ask? **

**Ranko: Well, because I can't let go of those stories and the feels are still fresh… (sobs) Why did it have to end? **

**Yuugi: She's been doing that a lot lately…**

**Yami: So instead of letting the poor trilogy rest in peace, she is keeping it alive.**

**Ranko: Don't judge me!**

**Yuugi: Ranko twin does not own anything that involves Yu-Gi-Oh or The Forbidden Game series, both belong to their respected creators!**

**Ranko: Let's see how this goes, shall we? Enjoy!**

-/-

Yuugi walked down the sidewalk with a slight spring in his step; his backpack was slung over one shoulder and bouncing against his shoulder blade as he walked. He was excited because he was on his way to work. Now, most people wouldn't be excited to get up at five o'clock in the morning to go to work but Yuugi had the best job in the world that made it exciting to get up so early.

Yuugi was an actor.

He giggled as he continued to skip. He was also happy because he was starring in a new movie. And he was the lead role! It made him all giddy just thinking about it! He couldn't even remember the name of the movie he was staring in. The Shadow-something. Or Game, The…Dark One? He shook his head; that didn't matter now.

He reached the studio and after wondering the area for a few minutes—the map he had was out of date—he found the right lot to be in.

He was directed to a large building with the number 23 painted on the side, apparently that is where he was supposed to be and where the cast would meet for the first time. He was so excited but also really nervous; there were butterflies in his stomach and everything.

He took a deep breath and entered the building. It looked much larger on the inside than it did from the outside. There were numerous sets that were either already set up or in the process of being put together. What he saw when he immediately walked in though was a long simple table that was surrounded by folding chairs.

There were a total of eight people sitting around the table, and none of them were sitting right next to each other. There was always two or three seats apart from everyone. Everyone seemed to be looking over scripts and had a cup of coffee by their side; they looked like zombies with bags under their eyes.

Yuugi stood awkwardly there, just watching everyone and not completely sure what to do. He studied all the faces and he noticed that all of these people were very popular and talented actors and actresses.

He suddenly felt intimidated; all of these guys were so experienced and he had never done anything like this before.

Mai Kujaku was sitting at the very end of the table, balancing her chairs on its back legs. She was so beautiful and very talented. He had seen all of her movies and he really admired her; she is what inspired him to become an actor. Then to Mai's left a couple seats away was Malik who was a child star and was beginning to work his way up in the industry. Not a few seats away from Malik was Marik Canon. Yuugi shivered; he had just gotten out of rehab for drug over dosage.

Sitting a few seats apart were Honda Hiroto and…he couldn't believe that it was Anzu Mazaki! He owned every movie she had ever been in and she was such a wonderful dancer as well. Although, Yuugi heard that she was a bit of a diva and was afraid of what it would be like to make a movie with her.

The only two people who were sitting close to each other and running lines were Bakura Oshiro and Ryou Bakura, ever since they got together three years ago they have always been in movies and TV shows together. They were the only real couple among all the actors.

On the other end of the table, opposite Mai, was Seto Kaiba. He didn't really do many movies that Yuugi had seen. He was in more TV shows and dramas. Yuugi had just watched a drama Seto was in last night and it left him in tears—then again, Yuugi will admit that he cries very easily.

A few seats away from Seto was Yami Sennen. Yuugi couldn't believe that he was going to be in a movie with _Yami Sennen_! Yuugi was not ashamed to admit that he had a huge crush on him. He was so ecstatic when he got the call from the casting director that he got the part he wanted and one of his co-stars—and love interest—was Yami Sennen.

Yuugi didn't know how he would get through this whole process without freaking out over being in the other man's presence.

Yuugi wrung his hands together nervously as he noticed that there was one person that was missing. He knew that he did have one friend in the cast; they went to acting school together. It was Katsuya Jounouchi. They met in college and became close friends, following each other after graduation and staying in touch. They both auditioned for the movie and they both got cast. But it didn't look like Jounouchi was here yet…

"Hey, buddy!"

The next thing Yuugi knew, the breath was knocked out of him as he was swept up in a large hug. Yuugi's face flushed a deep red. Yep, everyone else was bound to notice that. He could imagine all of their eyes staring directly at him. It made him fidget in Jounouchi's arms; Yami was staring at him! What he thought they were…together?

Yuugi couldn't bear the thought.

"Hey, Jounouchi," Yuugi said shyly.

Jounouchi released Yuugi and raised a questioning eyebrow at the boy. "Huh? Yuugi, what's wrong? You're face is all red; are you all right?" he asked, putting a hand to the boy's forehead to check for a temperature.

This made Yuugi blush even harder. He swatted Jounouchi's hand away. "I'm fine!" he hissed.

Jounouchi blinked in confusion and then looked over Yuugi's head—their height difference was astounding—and saw everyone at the table looking at them. He connected the dots and realized why Yuugi was acting so flustered.

"Oh," he said quietly. He bent down to whisper in Yuugi's ear. "Its okay, Yuugi, they're not going to judge you. I mean, we're all going to be a big family for the next couple of months so we all have to get along. Just be yourself and put yourself out there a little more and you'll be just fine." He patted the boy's shoulder.

Yuugi scoffed. "Easy for you to say," he said quietly.

Jounouchi chuckled and then walked up to the table. "Hey guys!" he said in his usual chipper tone. "It's so nice to meet you and I hope that we can all get along."

Seto scoffed; Jounouchi's left eye twitched. "Excuse me, did you want to tell me anything, hot shot?"

Seto stared at Jounouchi with his hard blue eyes; Jounouchi didn't back down. Seto gestured to Yuugi. "Just thinking that you're little owner should have kept you on a shorter leash."

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow at the man. "I am so sorry; I'm such a horrible person for wanting to get along with everyone." Jounouchi held his arms out in front of him. "Take me away, officer!"

Malik started laughing; Jounouchi cracked a grin. "You liked that joke, huh? Don't worry, you'll be hearing plenty more." Malik giggled again.

"Hey, Jou," Bakura said, tugging at the tail ends of Jounouchi's shirt to get his attention. "Just ignore mister high-and-mighty over there. He has something up his ass."

Ryou swatted his boyfriend's arm. "Bakura…"

Bakura looked at Ryou innocently. "What? You know it's true, you even agreed with me earlier!"

Ryou sighed. "That was to just get you to shut up."

"Which sounds like a good idea right now; don't you mutts have muzzles?" Seto asked distastefully.

Bakura's nostrils flared. He rose from his seat so fast that it was knocked backwards. He slammed his palms on the table. "Listen here, pretty boy…!"

"How about both of you can shut up so I can work on memorizing my lines?" Mai asked.

"Why don't you just relax? We haven't even met the director yet," Jounouchi said, still steaming from Seto.

Mai made a face. "Well, I can tell that someone doesn't take his job very seriously."

Jounouchi's rage was recharged. "Hey! Don't you dare accuse me of that! I take my job just as seriously as you; it doesn't matter whether I am as experienced or not!"

Marik ran his hand down his face. "This is going to be a fun movie."

"God, I hate people like you who think that they are so cool and have nothing but sarcastic remarks to say," Anzu said spitefully, flipping a page in her script.

Marik sat up straighter. "I'm sorry, you wanna run that one by me one more time?" He began to rise out of his seat but Honda stood and blocked Marik from Anzu.

"Leave her alone," he said threateningly.

Soon it seemed like everyone in the cast was in an all out argument. It was just a loud mix of noise and angry sounds. This wasn't supposed to be how a cast treated each other, right? They were supposed to be happy and be one big family for the months that they were working together. At least that is what Yuugi assumed from all of the interviews he has seen with stars talking about how much fun the movie was to make and how he or she had worked with such great people.

"Um, excuse me?" Yuugi spoke up timidly, raising a hand. No one turned his way, everyone continuing their respected argument. "Excuse me?" he said a little bit louder. Yuugi cleared his throat; here is where those vocal lessons come in handy. "Hey!" he shouted as loud as he could, which was apparently loud enough.

All the noise suddenly stopped and they were left in complete silence; there was a ringing in Yuugi's ear. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. Great, he had their attention now what was he supposed to do with it? "Um, I haven't really done this that often but aren't we all supposed to get along and be a family? I mean, why is everyone fighting anyway?"

There was a long period of silence that hovered over them; it seemed like everyone blinked simultaneously at Yuugi. The boy suddenly felt even more uncomfortable than before. He wrung his hands together—a nervous habit of his—and lowered his head.

"Aw!" was heard and then Yuugi was embraced in another tight hug. Mai Kujaku was squeezing him so hard that he felt like he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. "You are just the cutest thing ever!" she said in a sweet voice, squeezing him tighter.

Yuugi gasped; he felt like he was one of those cartoon characters that turned blue whenever they couldn't breathe. "I…I can't…breathe…" Yuugi said is a raspy voice.

"Sorry!" Mai said, releasing him quickly. Yuugi fell to the floor and was offered a hand to help him up; he followed the hand up its arm and then to its face. Ryou was standing over him offering his hand.

"Thank you," Yuugi said as he was helped up.

"It is no trouble," Ryou said.

"I am such a huge fan of you both," Yuugi said, surprised that he was able to keep his composure in front of those two.

"Well, I'm a big fan of you!" Mai said, hugging him again—just not as hard.

"Really? You've seen the shows and movies I've been in?" Yuugi asked, feeling like he was floating on air.

"Unfortunately not," Mai commented. "But I will now that I see how cute you are! So what is your name, cutie-pie?" Mai asked.

"Yuugi Motou," he replied shyly, smiling softly.

Mai squealed like a fangirl. "Oh my, God! You are just so freaking adorable; I can't stand it!" She composed herself quickly. "I'm assuming you already know who I am and then, of course, Ryou." She guided the boy over to the long table and sat him down in a chair right next to her. "I think that we should all introduce ourselves, don't you think?" Mai asked. "I mean, this little cutie-pie is right, a cast is like a family!" She gave Yuugi a side-hug.

Seto crossed his arms over his chest. "When did you get so happy, Miss Sunshine?"

Mai smiled. "I could ask the same thing about you," she said.

"Shouldn't we wait until the director is here to do something like introducing ourselves?" Malik asked.

Mai shook his head. "Nah, its fine. I do this all the time when I'm in a new cast. We make a game out of it!" Mai said excitedly. "You like games, Yuugi?" she asked the boy by her side.

Yuugi nodded, still keeping his head down; it felt like Yami was staring right at him.

"Great! Okay, we all say our name and one interesting fact about each other," Mai explained. "Alright, I'll start; my name is Mai Kujaku and…I can stick by entire fist in my mouth."

Honda leaned his arms on the table. "Really?" he asked

"Yeah!" Mai said, moving her fist towards her mouth but Malik interrupted her.

"My name is Malik Ishtar and I…um, I was a diver on my high school diving team."

Marik rested his chin in his hand and licked his lips at Malik. "I should have gone to your high school; I'm sure you had many admirers."

Malik scowled. "Shut up."

Marik shrugged. "I'm Marik, last names don't matter, and I can juggle."

Malik crossed his arms over his chest. "Why does that not surprise me; I always thought that you were a clown."

Marik laughed. "Oh! You are just as funny as you are ugly!"

Malik raised an eyebrow at him. "Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"You can figure that one out, princess," Marik said, leaning his chair on its back two legs and resting his feet on the table.

"Hey, my name's Honda Hiroto and I am actually a huge Death Note fan," Honda said.

"Oh my, gosh! Me too!" Anzu said excitedly from beside him. Before they got into a very interesting discussion on the anime, Anzu first said, "My name is Anzu Mazaki, by they way."

Yami shrugged; Yuugi got nervous. "Hey, the name's Yami and I almost became a voice actor," he said in that rich and deep voice of his. Yuugi couldn't help but blush when he heard him talk.

'I wonder why,' Yuugi thought.

"My name is Seto Kaiba and that is all you need to know about me."

Jounouchi, surprisingly, laughed at this like it was a joke. "You're no fun. Hey everyone! My name is Katsuya Jounouchi and I used to be a bully when I was in high school! But I'm not anymore and like I said earlier, I hope that we can all be good friends."

Ryou waved. "My name is Ryou Bakura and I can whistle through my nose." He whistled the tune of 'Twinkle Twinkle Litter Star' through his nose to prove his point.

Bakura smiled and shook his head. "My name is Bakura Oshiro and I really have no interesting facts about myself. I'm pretty sure it is all out on the internet if you look hard enough."

Mai finally nudged Yuugi's shoulder. "Alright, honey, go on."

Yuugi finally looked up and to his horror; Yami was staring right at him. "Um, my name is Yuugi Motou and I…I was raised in Egypt."

"Really? That is so cool!" Malik said.

"I've never been to Egypt but I really want to go," Ryou said; Bakura nodded in agreement.

Yuugi felt comfortable for the first time whenever everyone accepted him with smiles and started chatting casually with him. He felt like this would be his family and, he knew that it sounded dorky, he felt very peaceful surrounded by this very open group of people.

That peacefulness was interrupted when the large metal door banged open and they saw the silhouette of a woman in the doorway.

"Hello, my personal bitches!"

Every head turned at the sound of the loud, rather obnoxious voice. Who they saw was a young looking girl with auburn hair tied back in a ponytail and bright blue eyes. She had a clipboard in her hand and Yuugi noticed that her eyes were dilated.

"I am so sorry that I am late, guys, but you wouldn't believe the traffic." She took in the setting of everyone sitting together at the table. "That's great, you guys are getting acquainted; we're all going to be one big, nice, happy family!" She squinted her eyes at them. "That's funny; you all looked prettier the last time I saw you."

Yuugi heard Mai growl in the back of her throat.

"Wait! Hold on," the girl said, reaching into her purse and grabbing a pair of glasses. She wiped off the lenses and put them on her face, blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted. As she got a clearer look at all their faces she smiled pleasantly. "There! That's better. Anyway, my name is Ranko and I am the director of The Shadow Game movie."

Malik raised his hand.

Ranko shook her head and smirked at the boy. "All questions will be answered when the producer and co-director shows up." She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and looked over her shoulder to the door she came in from. "Where the hell are they, anyway?"

Suddenly, the door banged up, causing everyone to jump. In walked a girl and a boy, both were bickering back and forth in Australian accents. The boy was saying that they should have taken the express way so they wouldn't be late and the girl was saying they wouldn't be late if the boy had gotten up when he was supposed to.

Ranko's left eye twitched. "Excuse me," she said calmly, quietly. The two didn't appear to hear her and just continued back and forth at each other. Ranko turned back towards the group of actors and smiled. "Excuse me for one moment," she said, grabbing a megaphone that was by her feet. She cleared her throat and then said loudly into the megaphone. "Ladies!"

The two _girls_ stopped arguing and turned towards Ranko.

Ranko smiled and put the megaphone down. "Thank you; now, it does not matter who's fault it was that you two were late."

"It was hers!" they both said at the same time, pointing a finger at each other.

Ranko picked up the megaphone again and waved it around threateningly like a sword. Both girls got quiet again. "Okay, now, you two are friends; you are partners. Hug and make up."

The girl with long hair looked the other up and down quizzically. "I am not a very huggy person…"

Seto huffed.

The girl—who Yuugi thought was a boy at first—shrugged and hugged her friend anyway.

Ranko nodded her approval. "Alright, now that that is settled, come over here." When the two other girls were standing by Ranko, she continued to say, "Alright, now, you two know the cast members from the audition tapes, but they don't know you entirely, so introduce yourselves."

The girl with long hair stepped forward and in a feminine Australian accent said, "Hello, you may call me Vortex and I am the producer of this film."

"I am Axel!" the other girl said. She had a bit of a deeper voice than Vortex but it was obvious that she was Australian too. Put the voice and the short hair together and that results in Yuugi confusing the girl for a boy. "I will be directing this movie with Ranko! We are all so happy to have you with us and we know that we are all going to get along like family and have a great time. We will enjoy working with you all and having a great experience with this movie."

Ranko clapped her hands together once and smiled pleasantly. "Wonderful, now that everything has introduced themselves, any questions?"

Nearly every hand was in the air.

Ranko didn't miss a beat. "No questions? Great! Alright, how about we read through the script now and you can tell me what you think of your characters?"

Malik waved his hand and stood up, waving his hand in front of Ranko's face.

Ranko sighed. "I see that Malik has a question."

Malik smirked. "Thank you," he said, "I have one question."

"And what is that?"

"Are you really the director or are you just screwing with us?" Malik asked.

Ranko raised her eyebrows at him and adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "Well, yes, I am the director of The Shadow Game along with Axel. Why do you ask?" She gave him a challenging look.

"Because you just seem too young and inexperienced to be doing something like this. It makes me think that you aren't taking this completely serious," Malik said honestly, accepting the challenge.

Ranko pursed her lips and sat down in a random stool, Axel and Vortex behind her. "Okay, I know that we are all young and we may act goofy sometimes but that is just because we want to have as much fun with this movie as possible and to just have a good time with you guys. I do take this seriously; it is very important to me so do not get the wrong idea. I just want to make you guys feel comfortable since we are going to spending a lot of time together from now on."

Ranko hopped off the stool. "So! Who's ready to read through the script?"

-/-

**Ranko: And that is chapter 1! Interesting, to say the least. Axel and Vortex made a cameo in this fic! To fill you guys in, Axel is the actual director of The Shadow Game movie and Vortex really is the producer.  
**

**Yuugi: I feel like I'm back in season 0; I'm so shy!**

**Yami: I seem like I'm cool, which is too good to be true. Ranko, are you going to do anything to my character that will make people hate me?**

**Ranko: All depends on my mood. Next chapter is their first read through of the script and of course, very embarrassed Yuugi.  
**

**Yami: Leave a review for Ranko and if you want to see anything happen in this fic, drop it in your review and Ranko will try her best to make it happen. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Ranko: Oh my, gosh! I am so excited for this story! I got so much positive feedback and it just hit the ground running. **

**Yami: Which she was not expecting. **

**Yuugi: And now it is time for some shameless advertisement. **

**Ranko: That's right! For any of you who haven't read Taken Adrift yet, do it now and review if you want to make me a happy person. And I started a Mortal Instruments story…**

**Yami: Wait! You're saying you didn't write a story that involves us?**

**Ranko: Yeah, get over it. **

**Yuugi: Anyway, as Ranko was saying, she started a Mortal Instruments story that is a crossover between Howl's Moving Castle. **

**Ranko: PLEASE! Check out The Moving Castle, read it and review it. I will probably not update on that story until I get 10 reviews, so do it now!**

**Yami: Uh-oh, Ranko's review-whore side is coming out. **

**Yuugi: Speaking of reviews…**

**Ranko: Yeah, I should probably answer some, huh? **

**IlluminatedWord:**** Well, if you think of The Shadow Game as a movie then Yami never really died, so it's all good! Unfortunately, The Shadow Game trilogy is not actually a movie (just a fic) and Yami did die :( Thank you, I try my best to make the most outstanding entrances! Mai was totally reflecting how I would respond if I ever met Yuugi in real life. **

**SincerelyChristina:**** It's okay, half of the YGO fandom treats Yuugi as if he were a plushie ^^**

**Aly Goode:**** You know, I didn't think of how Yuugi would react to kissing Yami during rehearsals until you mentioned that to me. Thank you! :)**

**YinYang Moon Dragon:**** I know! Yuugi is tougher than we thought he was, huh? **

**Starrymoon04:**** You are about as excited as I am that this is finally done ^^ I thought that it seemed fitting to have Yuugi raised in Egypt, in my mind, that is always where I would imagine him fitting in best. Bakura Oshiro will be playing Bakura and Akefia. Your suggestion was not a stupid idea! It was a marvelous idea and I have thought about doing that. But when it got down to the planning stage I figured that there really wouldn't be that much material to work with unless I wanted to stretch it out real thin. But that was a wonderful idea and I will continue to keep that in mind!**

**Great:**** Oh, trust me, they will suffer ;) I'm just kidding, I'm not that mean…or am I? **

**anonimous:**** Unfortunately, I do not think that I will be doing that alternate ending. Really, I just want that story to sit and rest because I really like how it ended and I don't really want to mess with it. Also, I don't know when I would find the time to do something like that since I have my hands full with all these other stories I have out and stories that I still have to write. **

**breana:**** Well, you know Kaiba ^^" Yes, there will be a chapter 2. I think I've said this before but I think I have to say it again, you will know when I end a story, because I get really emotional about it in the author's notes. You WILL know when I end a story, so…yeah. Also, when a story is done, there should be somewhere in the description that says Completed when the story is done.**

**lilyflower666**** Oh my, goodness, your review made me so happy! I am so glad that you feel that way, it lets me know that I must being doing something right. I'm a psycho fangirl all the time, so it's all good ^^**

**VortexValkyrie:**** Heh-heh :) This is going to be my own little story that I plan on continuing for a while. I actually thought of this idea before I heard from you two, so it really worked out when I heard from you guys ;)**

**Yuugi: Ranko just wants to say that she appreciates all of the reviews, favorites, and followers that she gets and she loves all you!**

**Yami: You know this by now but unfortunately my contract with Ranko has to make me say it every time; Ranko twin owns nothing. **

**Ranko: He-he, Yami is my bitch. Enjoy!**

-/-

Yuugi had read through the script before by himself or with his family and friends. But reading through The Shadow Game script with people all around him in this pressured environment was a whole other story.

It really was stressful; there were all of these people around him who were listening and paying attention only to him. They were depending on him to say the right line correctly; Yuugi had himself convinced that if he screwed up on one of his lines then the whole building would collapse around them.

The worst part of it all was he was afraid of what other people may think of him, especially Yami.

Bakura had asked before they read through the script why all of their names were the same.

Ranko had said, "That is so you guys can shape your characters more to your personality and become more connected to them. It is also so everyone can be more comfortable getting into their role."

Vortex scoffed. "Or just because she was too lazy to come up with actual names for your characters."

Ranko opened her mouth to protest, and then snapped it shut as she pondered that thought. She shrugged and said, "That too."

Yuugi shook his head to focus himself. They were just starting at the very beginning of the script. Ranko wanted to go in order first and then jump around to look at the problem areas, Axel did not. They had a debate about that for a few minutes as the cast watched with raised eyebrows. Finally, Ranko became so annoying that Axel just caved.

Currently, Vortex was reading through all of the stage directions before Yami started his first line.

Yuugi felt his head pounding and his palms getting sweaty. He really was nervous. He had a self-esteem problem so he couldn't stand the thought of someone thinking badly of him or his acting skills. What would Yami think of him? He didn't want to give the man a wrong impression.

"Can I help you?"

Yuugi was snapped out his thoughts and his head shot up. Everyone at the table was looking at him expectantly. He gulped; what was he going to do now? Why were they all staring at him?

"Can I help you?" He realized that it was Yami speaking to him and his eyes quickly darted over to Yami's. Oh, why did Yami have to have such a handsome face? It wasn't fair; he was losing his concentration just staring at him. What was he doing again?

"Yuugi," Ranko said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You okay?"

Yuugi jumped in surprise when he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Ranko. "Huh?"

Ranko sighed. "Yuugi, you need to pay attention. Yami just said his line and now, it's your turn."

Yuugi's mouth fell open, making a small, "Um" noise. He looked down at his script and indeed, Yami's line was, "Can I help you?"

"I am so sorry, Ranko," Yuugi said, feeling flustered. "It's just…I, uh…"

Ranko waved her hand in a dismissing manner. "Its okay, Yuugi, just please, pay attention a little more next time. I know that you're nervous but you got to focus from now on, alright?"

Yuugi nodded, blushing madly. Great, now everyone was staring at him.

"Actually, I think what Yuugi did was great," a deep, baritone voice spoke up.

Everyone head swiveled in Yami's direction. He was leaning back in his chair casually, smiling.

"How so?" Vortex asked. "He forgot to say his line and he was off in La-La Land."

Yami nodded. "Exactly, I mean, Yuugi's character is really flustered whenever he first meets my character. It seems a little inappropriate for such a shy character to immediately rush into the next line if he is clearly taken aback by another character that obviously has an effect on the latter."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Your point?"

"My point is, let there be a pause, I'll repeat my line, and then Yuugi goes into his," Yami suggested confidently.

Yuugi gaped and blinked a few times. He couldn't believe what just happened. Yami Sennen…defended him. He felt like he was walking on air at this point.

"I like it," Ranko said. "I say we write that in and use it."

"Really?" Yuugi spoke up, happily surprised.

Ranko nodded. "Yeah, I mean, if you guys ever want to make suggestions then the three of us are open to anything." Ranko thought about what she just said for a moment and then said, "Now, that doesn't mean we will completely rewrite the script to suit your needs or start shooting porn, but you get what I mean."

Bakura rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Oh God, this is going to be a long day."

"It will be if you keep making snide comments, princess," Vortex said.

Bakura's head shot up. "You wanna say that again?"

Vortex opened her mouth to retaliate and rising to her feet when Axel stood up, looped her arm around her friend's neck and then dragged her back down to her seat.

Ranko ignored the little moment that just happened and said, "Okay, from your line Yami. We'll do as you suggested and for now, let the pause last for five beats. We'll work that out when we're shooting."

Yami nodded and said his line again. "Can I help you? …Can I help you?"

Yuugi couldn't repress the smile that was on his face; he was still so happy that Yami stood up for him. "What? Oh, I'm sorry."

Yami chuckled; Yuugi knew that it was just in the script but it still made his heart skip a beat. "It's fine. But is there something you are looking for?"

"Oh, yeah! I want to buy a game…for a party…for my best friend." Yuugi almost laughed. He was so much more comfortable saying his lines now that he knew he had Yami's support.

They went through most of the script and then they took a break for lunch.

Ryou had invited Yuugi to eat lunch with him and everyone else but Yuugi wanted to find Yami first and thank him for what he did. He found the man outside the lot, texting on his cell phone. He looked so cool, leaning up against the building like that with one hand in the pocket of his jeans while the other was texting.

Yuugi began to get nervous again. He had never really talked with Yami at all, let alone face-to-face. He pursed his lips and steeled himself before walking up to the man.

"Um, hi," Yuugi said.

Yami looked at Yuugi out of the corner of his eyes and then quickly went back to the screen of his cell phone. "Hey."

Yuugi gulped but gave a weak smile. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me out back there while we were reading the script. That really meant a lot to me and I don't know if you know this or not but I am a huge fan of you." Yuugi blushed; he couldn't believe he just said that out loud.

"Yeah, just don't let it happen again," Yami said dryly.

All of Yuugi's thoughts came to a screeching halt. "Um…what?"

Yami shoved his phone in his other pocket and looked at Yuugi. "I said, don't let it happen again. You know, you spacing off like that. No one here can cover for every mistake you make. This is a professional movie so I would appreciate it if you would get your head in the game and take it a little more seriously. Especially since we will be working a lot together."

Yuugi gaped; he couldn't believe what Yami had just said to him! He felt like crying, but his anger overtook that emotion. Yuugi chuckled humorlessly and grabbed Yami's wrist before he could turn away from him and walk away.

"You know, I do take my job seriously," Yuugi said in a short, annoyed tone.

Yami smirked; he leaned his face in closer to Yuugi's and said, "Well, prove it. Kiss me right now."

Yuugi gaped and quickly backed away. "Are you insane? What the hell are you talking about?"

Yami chuckled. "You know, we're going to have to do it eventually, it's in the script."

Yuugi opened his mouth to protest and then remembered that Yami was telling the truth. They did kiss more than once in this movie. Yuugi gulped. "Then let's wait until rehearsal, shall we?" Yuugi said in an almost challenging tone.

Yami smiled, accepting the challenge. "I'll be counting the minutes."

Yuugi scowled, turned on his heel and walked away.

He couldn't believe Yami! He thought he was a nice guy! He had a crush on the man for goodness's sake! But it turned out that he was just another one of those jerks when the camera wasn't rolling.

After lunch break, they all met up in the studio building again and sat around the table, some sitting closer than they did this morning. They finished reading through the script for the first time at five in the evening. Everyone stretched and rubbed their tired eyes.

"Alright," Ranko said tiredly. "Tomorrow, we will run through the script again and go through some troubled areas," she said. "We'll also be doing some blocking so everyone rest up and meet up at the same time here." She turned her head to look at Axel and Vortex. "Let's hope that no one is late this time."

Vortex mumbled something under her breath and Axel said to the cast, "We would all like for you guys to get to know each other a little better so we suggest that you all go out and do something together outside of work, okay? Get some coffee, go to dinner, let the paparazzi take pictures of you and blow up the tabloids, okay?"

There was silence in the room.

"Really?" Axel asked. "No one is going to laugh or groan or shake their head in disappointment at my joke."

Ranko patted the girl's shoulder. "Save it for tomorrow when we're not all zombies."

"But you always act like a zombie, Ranko," Axel said.

"Exactly," she said.

Jounouchi shot up out of his seat so quickly it banged to the ground. He didn't bother to pick it up and instead rushed over to Yuugi, grabbing his hand. "Come on, let's go get dinner! I'm starved!"

"Can we come along too?" Ryou asked, dragging Bakura but his arm.

"Sure!" Jounouchi said happily.

Yuugi sighed and shook his head. "Anyone else want to come?" Yuugi asked.

Honda raised his hand. "Yeah, I'm up for some food. Anzu?"

The brunette shook her head. "Nope, I got plans with my family tonight."

Yuugi walked up to Mai before they left for some random fast-food place and gave the older woman a hug. "It was nice meeting you today, Mai," he said.

Mai hugged the boy back. "You too, sweetheart. I wish I could come with you guys for dinner and everything but I have a lot of stuff that I need to do tonight."

Yuugi nodded. "I understand."

Jounouchi suggested some place called Burger World and they all piled into their own cars—if they drove—and followed Jou over there. Yuugi was sitting in the passenger's seat of Jounouchi's old car while he was listening to some old 90's music on the blond's radio.

Jounouchi smiled and turned down the radio a bit. "So, I saw that you went off to find Yami earlier today. Did you talk to him?" he asked.

Yuugi—who had almost forgotten his confrontation with Yami—became enraged again when everything resurfaced. "Yes," he said in a sour tone.

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Whoa, I didn't expect that kind of reaction. I thought you had a crush on him and you were so happy to be in a movie with him."

Yuugi nodded. "Yeah, then he opened his mouth…"

Jounouchi laughed. "I haven't seen this side of you in a long time, Yuugi. What did he say? Do I need to beat anyone up for you?"

Yuugi laughed. "No, don't worry about it. It's just that Yami is a total jerk. He completely disrespected me and undermined me."

"Well, what exactly did he say?" Jounouchi asked curiously.

Yuugi sighed. "Well, I found him so I could thank him about how he helped me out earlier. He said that it was fine just to not let it happen again, in a totally rude way! He told me that everyone can't cover for every mistake I make."

Jounouchi shrugged, making a left turn at a light. "Well, he kind of has a point, buddy."

Yuugi gaped. "Jou! You're supposed to be my best friend and agree with everything I say."

Jounouchi laughed. "Yeah, I know, but I have to say that Yami may have won this argument, Yuugi. I mean, this is a professional movie and we all have our own responsibilities and we all have to carry our own weight, you know?" He pulled his car into a parking spot in front of the fast food place.

Yuugi sighed and leaned his head back. "It's just, it got me so irritated!"

Jounouchi nodded. "That's good; it is good to be upset. That shows that you really do care about what you are doing!"

Yuugi crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "He said that I didn't take my job seriously…" Yuugi blushed when the memory of Yami leaning in for a kiss flashed in his mind.

Jounouchi patted his friend's shoulder. "Don't let what he said bring you down, Yuugi; I know that you've been waiting for this moment to finally work with Yami so don't let him ruin it for you."

Yuugi smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess so…" He has been looking forward to working with Yami—his idol and his crush—for the longest time. He shouldn't let what he said bring him down.

"I know that you are going to do great in this movie. Why don't you try and get along with him tomorrow, okay? I mean, you two will be spending the most time together during this movie so why don't you make friends with him? It's not good to fight like that when making a movie," Jounouchi said.

Yuugi cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what about you and Seto?" he questioned, grinning deviously.

Jounouchi's face became red. "That's a whole other story. He was the one who pissed me off first so I get to be mad! Until he apologizes we will continue to fight."

"I see," Yuugi said, nodding slowly. "So it's a double-standard is what you're saying? Seto was the one who made the first move and so you have the right to be as angry as you want?"

Jounouchi shrugged. "Well, I guess you can call it a double-standard…but that is such a negative word."

Yuugi giggled. "I see, so even though Yami was the one who made the first move and I was just trying to be nice than that means that I have to apologize to him and the two of us have to be buddy-buddy?"

Jounouchi pursed his lips; he opened his mouth to make an argument and then snapped it shut again. He thought for a moment and then said, "Yes." Yuugi gaped and Jounouchi quickly continued. "You see, Seto and I don't really have that deep of a relationship in the movie so it doesn't matter if we get along or not, for you and Yami it does."

Yuugi barely understood Jounouchi because he was speaking all in one breath.

Jounouchi quickly opened the door to his car. "Alright, let's get out of here and get something to eat. Nice chatting with you, Yuugi, but my stomach takes first priority." He then slammed the car door shut.

Yuugi still sat in the passenger's seat, his mind trying to process what had just happened. He blinked and then gaped. He quickly got out of the car and chased after Jounouchi who was laughing merrily.

"Jounouchi! Get back here and speak more slowly this time! Do you hear me?"

* * *

Yami sat in his apartment, reading through his script again, his cat curled up on the couch next to him; there was a half-full mug of coffee by his side on the end table. He stroked his cat's soft fur as he read through the scene where he was dressed as the big bad wolf and Yuugi was little red riding hood.

He smiled and shook his head as he read. He knew that this movie would be enjoyable and really fun to do. He loved his character and he loved Yuugi's character too. The relationship between the two characters was amazing as well. Yuugi's character becoming independent and strong and speaking up for himself…it reminded him of Yuugi in real life too.

The little boy was kind of cute and he was so shy when they were reading through the script, then whenever he talked to Yami his attitude completely changed and he seemed more…confident.

A knock on the door disrupted his thoughts. He sighed; who could possibly be visiting him this late at night?

He got up to answer the door and his cat followed him. Standing in the hallway on the other side of the door was Ranko.

Yami sighed. "Ranko, can I help you?" he asked tiredly.

Ranko smiled and pushed past Yami to get into the apartment. "Yes, you can, thank you." She plopped herself on the couch and rested her feet on the coffee table. "You know, I thought that you would thank me for casting Yuugi into the movie, especially him being your love interest. Since you are such a huge fan of his."

Yami rolled his eyes and fought back a blush; he would not let this girl get the better of him. She loved to play games and screw with him. He would not let her win this time. "You're point is?"

Ranko laughed. "My point is that instead of getting along with your partner in this movie, you start off your relationship getting on each other's nerves."

Yami sighed. "So what do you want me to do?"

Ranko rolled her eyes; she looked like she wanted to slap Yami. "I can't make you do anything, Yami. You're a big boy and you can make your own decisions. But I do suggest that you make up with him because if you don't then this is going to be a long couple of months. You do understand that, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," he said under his breath.

"You know," Ranko said, grinning deviously. "I heard from a little birdie that Yuugi has a crush on you too. So maybe this will all work out. What do you think? I mean, isn't it ironic that you and your crush have secret feelings for each other but you don't tell the other because you are afraid of rejection? I mean, come on! You can make a movie out of all this!"

Yami sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Goodnight, Ranko."

Ranko shrugged. "Hey, I'm just saying," she said.

Yami nodded. "Yes, I believe that you said quite enough. Goodnight, Ranko."

Ranko stood up and smiled. "Alright, I don't need to be told twice."

Yami walked towards the door and opened it for her. "Yes, apparently is three times. Goodnight, Ranko."

Ranko pouted. "You're no fun," she said. She walked out the door but before she left, she stopped in the hallway and turned around to face Yami with a large grin on her face. "You know, the way you two met is good movie material too."

Yami's left eye twitched and he slammed the door in Ranko's face.

-/-

**Ranko: Oh my, goodness! This has me really excited! I mean, come on, I didn't expect to add this amount of depth to the story; this is so cool!**

**Yami: Is my character going to be just like When Life Gives You Lemons?**

**Ranko: Nope, that was just a little sidetrack thing I threw in there. It will all be better next chapter!**

**Yuugi: Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ranko: Okay, before you start thinking, "Where have you been?" or my personal favorite, "Burn the witch!" Let me just say that with school starting I have had a lot more stress put on my shoulders and I really need to start focusing more on school. So I know that it sucks, but don't expect stories to be every week, expect them to be when I have free time. **

**Yami: Yeah, Ranko has school and homework and a future to plan. She's no fun. **

**Ranko: Yep!**

**Yuugi: And she whole-heartedly agrees to that…**

**Ranko: Well yeah! Listen, if you can't accept your own failures and faults than you are going to have one tough life and everyone will think you're a bitch, just like Yami!**

**Yami: Hey! I haven't done anything wrong!**

**Ranko: Uh-huh, you see?**

**Midnight/lilyflower666:**** Oh sorry, I didn't know that is what you liked to be called ^^" I just go by the penname. But lilyflower666 is so pretty! Oh well, thanks so much!**

**hikari no senshi17:**** I know! No matter how hard I try I always make Yami a jerk! It always happens! I guess paybacks a bitch, huh, Yami? Anyway, enough of me being strange. You always give me such a big head after reading your reviews! Bow before your queen!**

**IlluminatedWord:**** Drama; sorry, couldn't resist ;) Anyway, I know! Just, let's not mention, you know, what happened to Yami at the end of Checkmate. Deal? :)**

**Aly Goode:**** Yay! They have such a strange relationship :) I know! That is such a random statement. I wanted to add a scene at the end with Yami but I didn't know what to do leading up to that moment that Ranko comes in. So I started to pet my cat and I was like… "Hmm…" :)**

**Great:**** Yes! Everyone has their own personal issues! Apparently, Yami's issue is being a jerk towards the people he likes instead of manning up and just admitting his feelings to the person!**

**Magi Magi Magician Gal:**** Yes, Yami slammed the door in my face -_- Little bastard. Anyway, I will make sure that Yami gets your message so he can start acting like the seme instead of acting like a jerk (which is the only way I can write him apparently). **

**VortexValkyrie:**** I know! It's mind blowing, right? This stuff you can only find in my twisted little mind ;) Yeah, I love Ranko, she's pretty awesome :)**

**Zeladious:**** O_O Okay? That is wonderful that you spotted a mistake but could you tell me where? I think I know where you're talking about but you know…it would help if you told me where I messed up ^^ Thank you! Love you!**

**Mana's Madness:**** They say opposites attract, well, so do idiots :) That is why Yami and Yuugi are made for each other. They're idiots and they are opposite. Win! I will make sure to get your message to Yami and Yuugi ^^**

**Black Rose of Fire:**** Yes! I am your Queen! Yeah, I get a big head from this. I really shouldn't have this kind of power ^^ Yay! Yuugi plushie!**

**Tyrant Dragon Knight:**** Aw! I love you too! My day became much better when I read your review too! It is a mutual relationship :) You get happy from updates and I get happy when people review. Free hugs! (hugs you) My character is pretty awesome! ^^**

**Yuugi: I think that is it!**

**Yami: Ranko twin owns nothing!**

**Ranko: And please enjoy!**

-/-

"I don't know what you have against coffee, Yuugi," Jounouchi said as he took a sip of the hot liquid from a Styrofoam cup. "It is amazing, especially when you have to get up early in the morning for rehearsals." He blew at the steam and took another sip. "Good stuff."

Yuugi shook his head. "Like you need any more caffeine in your system, and you do know that coffee stunts growth, right?"

Jounouchi looked thoughtful for a moment before he grinned. "Then how much coffee did you drink as a kid?"

It took Yuugi a moment to understand the joke, when he did he scowled at Jounouchi and punched his arm as hard as he could; and let's face it, it wasn't very hard. "You're an ass, you know that?"

Jounouchi laughed. "Totally worth it."

They made it to the production offices, passing the one of the CGI rooms on the way up to the room where they read through the script the other day. Jounouchi had finished his coffee in a few long gulps and sighed, throwing the cup away as they passed a trashcan.

They were rather early, there was no one at the table; all the folding chairs were still pushed out from people leaving in a hurry the other day. Jounouchi sighed and fell down in a chair, propping his feet on the table and leaning his chair back on its back two legs. "Man, I told you that we shouldn't have gotten up this early, I don't think anyone will be here for another half an hour."

Yuugi sat down next to Jounouchi, twisting his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry, Jou. I've never really done anything like this before, you know, been a leading role in a movie. I've been in extra in a lot movies I've been in so I just want to make sure I don't do anything wrong or mess anything up."

Jounouchi patted his friend on the back. "I understand, buddy, we've all been there; you know, eager. But I can't tell you enough how proud I am of you."

Yuugi blushed and turned away from his long time friend. "Stop it, you're beginning to sound like my grandpa."

Jounouchi laughed and brought his chair back down to all four of its legs. "Hey, since we have some time to kill, how about we look around the production offices? You know, do a little exploring."

"Are we supposed to do that?"

The blond shrugged. "Who knows? But let's do it anyway!"

Yuugi still felt unsure, like he was breaking some unspoken rule. What if this really was against some of the policies here? What would they do to him? Fire him? He hated to think of what Ranko or Axel would say if they found out. Or worse, Vortex. She seemed nice enough to Yuugi, but he couldn't help but feel intimidated by her.

Yuugi couldn't really make any arguments as Jounouchi wouldn't let him speak as he basically gave him a tour throughout the production offices. They went to the prop room and discovered some of the props that were already completed; most of them still in the process of getting made.

They went to the costume closet but were kicked out. Apparently the people who dealt with costumes on movies were very protective and would not even let the actors see anything until it was needed. There was nothing to interesting to see in makeup. He could imagine the hours that he would have to spend in this room to get ready for shooting so he didn't want to stay there any longer than they had to.

They couldn't really go into the writers' office because even they weren't in that early.

Yuugi was actually enjoying the tour and seeing all of the interesting things in a production office, until Jounouchi said this… 

"Hey, how about we go see if Ranko and Axel are here yet?"

Yuugi's eyes widened. "You mean go to their office?"

Jounouchi nodded in confirmation.

"Jounouchi, no, I don't want to get in trouble."

The taller man sighed. "Yuugi, relax; this isn't high school. You're not going to get in trouble, this is a completely normal thing to do. Would I have you do something if I knew it would get you fired?"

Yuugi thought about that statement for a while and before he could respond, Jounouchi was already pulling him forward, in the direction of the directors' office. Yuugi bit nervously at his lower lip. What if Jounouchi had made a mistake? What if they weren't supposed to be there? But then again, Ranko or Axel couldn't even be there and then they wouldn't even find out they were there.

Yuugi heard the quiet murmur of voices as they neared the office that Ranko and Axel shared. Yes, they were screwed. He literally did feel like he was back in high school and he was sneaking into the principle's office to take something. But then he remembered Jounouchi telling him that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to him and to just relax.

Easier said than done.

Yuugi didn't understand why he got anxiety so easily, he just did. He has always been that way. That is what caused him to mess up with his lines the other day. He was thinking too much about it and worrying. That is why he had to say something stupid to Yami and made the worst first impression ever. His anxiety took over and he said the first things that his brain came up with.

It was going to be a very uncomfortable time making this movie if his relationship with Yami continued. He still admired the man. He had admired him for years, for his acting skills and beauty. He was his idol, his role-model, and he had the biggest crush on him. But then again, who wouldn't?

Yuugi almost completely forgot what he was doing or where he was. He had just got lost in his own thoughts.

The voices got louder and became more distinct as they neared the door. Yuugi recognized Ranko's obnoxious voice and Axel's Australian accent. But there was a third person in the room and Yuugi didn't recognize it as Vortex's voice. It was a different, feminine voice with an Arabic accent. It was the same hint of Arabic accent that he heard in Yami's speech…

Jounouchi smiled brightly and Yuugi could easily imagine what he was thinking: "Yay, drama!" Jounouchi was a kind soul, but one of his biggest faults was that he always wanted to be in everyone else's business.

He pressed his ear against the wooden door to hear the conversation better.

Yuugi's eyes widened. "Jounouchi," Yuugi hissed, trying to pull his friend away from the door. Jounouchi swatted Yuugi away and put a finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet; he pointed at the door to indicate he wanted Yuugi to hear the conversation as well.

Yuugi was half tempted to say no and then turn around and leave. He was not going to be caught snooping. But…

Throwing all caution to the wind, Yuugi pressed his ear against the door to hear.

"We cast our movie for a certain reason, Japas, we are not going to change just to suit one person's needs, even if that one person is one of the leads." That was definitely Ranko and she did not sound very happy.

"My client has told me about complications that he has had with one of his co-stars and I do not like that he has to work under those kind of conditions." That was the unfamiliar voice with the Arabic accent. Could that be Japas?

"It has only been a day! Of course there will be a few complications in the beginning process! Yami can just suck it up and deal with it because he should know more than anyone that that is how it goes when a movie is just in the beginning stages with the cast!" That was definitely Axel.

"Japas, I am not going to recast Yuugi," Ranko said.

Yuugi felt his heart skip a beat; they were talking about him and Yami…

"Although," Ranko continued; Yuugi felt his throat go dry. "I can't help but wonder if Yami even knows that you are here talking to us about this issue. You know, I wonder if he even thinks that it's an issue. Yami is a big boy and can handle himself in situations like this. He doesn't need his agent to back him up for something like this."

Jounouchi gave Yuugi a confused look; Yuugi didn't look Jounouchi in the eye, he knew exactly what they were talking about. His argument with Yami yesterday.

"I have a feeling that everything is going to work out just fine between them," Ranko continued to say. "Yami knows what he needs to do and I trust that Yuugi is a smart enough boy to accept his apology."

"Japas, we appreciate your concern, but you have to understand that as directors, we have everything under control," Axel said.

Vortex raised an eyebrow as she saw Jounouchi and Yuugi crouching down and leaning their ears close to the door. They looked to be in deep concentration as they tried to focus on the words that were being said beyond the wood. They hadn't seen Vortex yet.

The girl smiled, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her hip. She made a coughing sound and she felt a great satisfaction when Jounouchi and Yuugi jumped. They whipped around and saw Vortex facing them.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

Yuugi sputtered and looked like he was about to have a heart attack. He got down on his knees and put his nose against the floor. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to intrude! It was all Jounouchi's idea!"

"Yuugi!" Jounouchi screeched out, higher than he expected.

Vortex laughed. "My, oh my, you guys don't have to worry. You didn't do anything wrong." She walked over to Yuugi and helped him to his feet. "It's not like this is high school or anything."

Jounouchi threw his hands in the air. "That's what I said!"

"Yeah, but it sounded better coming from me," Vortex said without a hint of shame.

Jounouchi gaped.

"It was very nice talking to you again, Japas," Ranko said as the door to the office opening. Ranko blinked when she noticed Jounouchi on his knees in front of the door and Yuugi looking like he had been crying. "Vortex…what is going on?"

"Just for the record, I didn't do anything," she said, putting her hands up in a defensive manner.

"Yuugi, you okay?" Axel asked, appearing behind Ranko.

Yuugi didn't respond, he was too distracted by the woman that was standing next to Ranko in the doorway. She was tall and lean, very fit with a beautiful body shape; curves in all the right places. She had dark, tanned skin that reminded Yuugi of Marik and Malik's skin. Her eyes were a deep violet; in the right lighting they could be mistaken as black. She had long, inky black hair that ran all the way down to her waist that she had in a ponytail. Her frame was outline by a tailored white business suit.

She really was very beautiful, but her eyes were hard and it didn't really look like she allowed anyone in. Was this the same woman that Ranko and Axel were talking in their office about replacing him…or not replacing him. Yuugi was still so confused and frazzled.

Vortex laughed. "He's fine, I just saw these two snooping around outside your office."

Ranko raised an eyebrow. "Is there something that you want to ask me, Yuugi?"

Yuugi shook his head quickly.

The mysterious woman—Japas—narrowed her almond shaped eyes and looked Yuugi up and down, examining him. She took a few steps closer to him to get a better look. "Hmm…" she said thoughtfully, rubbing her sharp chin. "So this is the infamous Yuugi that I have heard so much about," she said.

She held out her hand in a very business like manner. "My name is Japas Sennen, Yami's agent and adoptive sister."

Yuugi hesitantly put his hand in Japas's, his mouth hanging open in shock. Sister…Yami had a sister. He had no idea. And she wasn't just his sister, but she was also his agent. Yuugi couldn't help but think that there was something just a little off about having a family member work for you.

Now the conversation that Yuugi overheard was beginning to make more sense. Japas was just trying to protect her brother from…what? Yuugi? Honestly, he didn't know. It was just one little argument, there was no need for him to get fired over it. Of course, that was just him. All that mattered was Ranko and Axel's decision, and it seemed like they were against it so that was a good thing.

But he was still confused how Japas found him to be a threat to her brother. He didn't do anything wrong, Yami started it…

It was then Yuugi realized that once again, he had become lost in his own thoughts…again. He had been holding Japas's hand much longer than a normal handshake would. And he was pretty sure that he had that same blank look in his eyes that he always got when he zoned out. This definitely wasn't helping him trying to make a better impression on Japas, even though he barely knew the woman.

Yuugi quickly released Japas's hand and bowed traditionally. "H-hello, my name is Yuugi Motou." He cursed himself for stuttering. "It is very nice to meet you."

He saw Japas shuffle her feet slightly. He felt her put a hand on his shoulder, giving him permission to stand up straight. "Likewise," the beautiful woman said, her thin lips still set in a straight line. A corner of her mouth wasn't even up a little bit. He had heard of people that showed no emotion through their face but he had never seen a person like that before.

He had to admit, it was kind of creepy.

He couldn't help but think that it must be a waste of beauty not to smile and have any expression on one's eyes.

H really hoped that he could learn more about this strange Japas character in the near future.

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Ranko, Axel," Japas said to the two girls. "I know that you two are very busy with the movie and I thank you for taking the time of your day to talk with me about a certain issue."

With that said, she turned on her high heeled foot and clicked off.

Yuugi raised in eyebrows as he watched her walk off.

Jounouchi looped an arm around his shorter friend's shoulder and whispered into his ear, "Did you see how big her boobs were?"

Yuugi stared, horrified at what Jounouchi just said. "Jou!" Yuugi hissed out. "You're gay!"

Jounouchi wagged his finger at Yuugi. "Because I still find girls still attractive, I like to think of myself as a bisexual."

Yuugi rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache come on. Jounouchi was definitely something else.

"Hey guys," Ranko said, smiling softly at the two boys. "Why don't you head back to the office where we do the read throughs, Axel, Vortex, and I will be there soon. And I'm pretty sure that everyone else is already there by now."

Jounouchi and Yuugi both nodded before finding their way back to where they had come.

Vortex sighed and turned towards Ranko. "What did Japas want?" This had not been their first time dealing with Japas and it certainly wouldn't be their last. The three didn't just know Japas on a professional level from all the times they have worked together, but also on a personal level; all four of their families were close.

Ranko ran her fingers through her bangs tiredly. "She somehow found out about the argument between Yuugi and Yami and she wasn't very happy about it. She came into our office while we were in the middle of work and started telling us that Yuugi should be fired if he wasn't going to get along and be respectful towards his co-stars."

Axel crossed her arms over her chest. "I admire how protective she is of her step-brother but she has to learn when to just let him be."

Vortex nodded in agreement. "Hard to believe that Yami is the older brother, huh?"

Ranko cleaned the dirt out from under her fingernails. "I mean, it's not her fault her first instinct when Yami is threatened to step in; that is how it has always been. When they were kids, Yami was Japas's only friend and Japas would do everything she could to protect Yami in any way she could."

"Do you think she knows how Yami feels about Yuugi?" Vortex asked.

"If she did I don't she would have asked us to fire Yuugi," Ranko said. "She knows that would have broken Yami's heart and that is the last thing that she ever wants to do."

Axel nodded in agreement. "Alright, enough about Japas. What were Yuugi and Jounouchi doing outside of our office before you showed up?"

Vortex smirked. "Snooping."

Ranko laughed, remembering how frightened Yuugi looked, as if he had just gotten caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar; so that was the reason that Yuugi looked like that, he thought he was going to get fired.

Axel snorted. "I knew it."

Vortex put her hands on her hips. "How did you know they were snooping?"

"Please, I could smell the coffee in Jounouchi's breath when he entered the freaking building."

-/-

**Ranko: It was at that moment she realized how she was going to die. She was going to die by her fans for not updating on this story in freaking ever!**

**Yuugi: Ranko had writers block. **

**Yami: And she had some research to do on how a movie is made. **

**Ranko: Yes, please forgive me for my limited knowledge. If you want to, you can send me advice in your review or through a PM. **

**Yuugi: This was a cute little chapter. **

**Ranko: Yep, the more interesting stuff happens next chapter so if you want to see that, stick around! Also, I would like to introduce to you the OC created by Sozan-Uzumaki: Japas!**

**Yami: You know how Ranko wrote bonus chapters in The Shadow Game and Ready or Not as thanks to Sozan for creating a cover page for the story?**

**Yuugi: Well, this is about the same thing, but instead of writing a bonus chapter, she is inserting Sozan's OC into the story!**

**Ranko: Yep! Love you, Sozan! I will give you a url so you can view the picture that is a depiction of Japas. Hopefully it will show up for you guys, I don't know. Oh well! **

art/Japas-378314514

**Yuugi: Review and tell us what you liked, what you didn't like, ways to improve, or what you want to see next!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ranko: I must say, I loved all of your responses when I posted the SOPA chapter. I love you guys so much!**

**Yuugi: We don't think the threat of SOPA really isn't hanging over our heads anymore so we are back to updating!**

**Yami: And here is the real chapter 4!**

**Ranko: Yep! So I just want to give a big thank you again! Because you guys are awesome and I love you all!**

**Mana's Madness:**** So…how disappointed were you when I posted the SOPA notice for chapter four? ^^" Yeah, sorry about that. I really hope that Yami and Yuugi start getting along too! I can't imagine them hating each other the entire time they are making the movie, though it would be fitting ;)**

**samaurai:**** Tell me about it -_-"**

**Zeladious:**** Yes, thank you for that, it was supposed to be "he." You know, sometimes authors write so fast they forget a letter ^_^ Thank you, and there is nothing wrong with being a grammar/spelling nazi. **

**Aly Goode:**** I am so glad that you liked that part! I definitely wasn't expecting to get so many positive reactions from what Jounouchi said! In answer to your question, when they begin filming, Bakura will play his character and Akefia. I really hope that Marik and Malik have a moment. Bring on the Bronzeshipping!**

**hikari no senshi17:**** Japas! Leave Yuugi alone! Yami, rescue him! You see? This is what goes on in my head on a regular basis. Le sigh, stupid school. **

**raindropdew:**** You are such a bad influence on him, Jou! Shame on you! Yuugi is just so cute and innocent, no one can hate him for long! **

**Midnight/lilyflower666:**** Sorry, I still have the urge to put your penname in there ^^" But anyway, I already talked to you and thank you ;)**

**Great:**** Bless you, stranger :')**

**VortexValkyrie:**** Yes, enjoy the power you have over him ;) Aw! I seriously love Yuugi! He is just so tiny and cute! …Were you disappointed when you found out that chapter 4 really wasn't a chapter 4? ;)**

**Ranko: Alright, that is all the reviews! I'm sorry, I will not be answering the reviews to the SOPA notice but again, I just want to say thank you for recognizing this issue and helping to stop it. **

**Yuugi: Ranko twin does not own anything that involves Yu-Gi-Oh or the Forbidden Game series; both belong to their respected creators. **

**Yami: Do we really have to keep disclaiming the Forbidden Game series? **

**Yuugi: Better safe than sorry. **

**Ranko: That's right! Enjoy!**

-/-

"Axel, Vortex, I have a problem," Ryou said, walking over to the two Australian girls while they were on lunch break.

"And what would that be?" Vortex asked, putting her hands on her hips and raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"I've read through the script and I don't like it!" Ryou said, stomping his foot and pouting.

"Honey, what is it you don't like about the script?" Axel asked.

"I die!" Ryou cried, an octave higher than his normal voice.

The cast all froze and turned in Ryou's direction upon hearing this. "You what?" Honda said, grinning.

"Why would you guys kill off a character?" Mai asked curiously, strutting over to stand by Ryou.

"Well," Axel said, rubbing the back of her neck. "You don't really die."

Anzu thought over this and then asked, "How does someone not really die?"

"Well, his nightmare killed him," Vortex explained. "But it didn't physically kill him. His body and soul was simply transferred to a different place to be kept there until his friends find him in the sequel?"

Malik nearly spit out his water. "There's going to be a _sequel_?"

"We're hoping," Axel said.

"And you're going to love it, sweetie," Vortex said, winking. "You better get acquainted with Marik now."

Malik gaped and Marik wiggled a suggestive eyebrow.

"Um…okay," Yuugi said awkwardly. He had been standing off to the side and not really getting involved in the conversation. Yami was also standing back with him and they were remaining a comfortable distance away from each other.

"Yeah, they're usually like this," Yami said.

"Have you worked with them on a movie before?" Yuugi couldn't help but ask. He still couldn't look Yami in the eye though, which was going to be a problem; every time he saw him he saw Japas and her wanting Yuugi gone.

"No," Yami said, shaking his head.

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "Then how do you know that they always act like this?"

To save Yami from answering, Axel said, "If you have a problem with the script then you're going to have to bring it up with the main script writer."

"And who is that?" Ryou asked.

"Me!" Ranko announced, entering the room with a great flourish of her arms. "Hello, my little chickies! What seems to be the problem?"

"Ryou doesn't like the fact that he's dying in the film," Bakura explained in short.

Ranko nodded slowly, rubbing her chin as if she were stroking a beard. "I see, I see…" There was a long stretch of silence as Ranko thought this over and everyone waited for her response. Finally, she turned to Axel and Vortex and said, "Have you explained to him that he really isn't dying?"

The cast visibly deflated at the anticlimactic moment.

"Yes, we have," Axel said. "He just doesn't like the idea of dying."

"Okay? And?" Ranko prompted.

"Could you change it?" Ryou asked hopefully.

"What's so wrong with dying?" Ranko asked, putting her hands on her hips. "All of your ancestors did it, why can't you?"

Ryou made a confused face as he processed this. "_What_?" He shook his head and continued. "No, I mean, I just never died in a movie before and I just don't feel one hundred percent comfortable."

Ranko laughed. "I see! Why didn't you just say so?"

Ryou's face lit up. "So you'll change it?"

"No."

His jaw dropped. "What, but you just said…"

"I know what I just said," Ranko said, "but I never said I was going to change it, hence the word 'no.'"

"But I told you I don't feel comfortable!" Ryou almost whined.

"You'll get comfortable then," Ranko said shortly, obviously all of her interest in the situation was lost. "You dying is very,_ very_ important. If we are going to go on and make a sequel than you must die, understand?"

"But…" Ryou started but Ranko had already moved past him and began walking to Yami and Yuugi.

"My two lovelies!" she said, holding her arms out wide as if she were going to hug him. "How are you two doing this wonderful day of rehearsal?"

Yuugi peaked at Yami out of the corner of his eye. "I'm fine."

Ranko tilted her head curiously. "Yuugi, why aren't you looking Yami in the eye?" Yuugi felt his face grow red and before he could attempt an answer, Ranko continued. She clicked her tongue and said, "That just won't do if you guys are going to go out on a date."

Yami and Yuugi's heads both shot up at once. "What?" they shouted simultaneously.

Axel and Vortex snickered behind their hands.

Ranko had on a satisfied smile. "Of course, if you guys are love interests than you must get comfortable being around each other! And what better way to do that than go on a date! I'm a genius, am I not?" There was a long pause and Ranko finally said, "Alright, Axel and Vortex gave me the idea, but I initiated it!"

"We're going on a date?" Yuugi squeaked out.

"That's right," Ranko said, still grinning.

"Yuugi and I?" Yami confirmed.

"You can thank me later," she said, patting the actor on the shoulder. "Though your manager will kill me for this later…" Ranko shivered. "That doesn't matter though!"

Yuugi thought of Japas's cold, stone eyes and understood why Ranko shivered.

"How can you set us up for a date?" Yami asked incredulously.

"Easy!" Ranko said in glee. "You have dinner reservations for seven tonight. Wear something formal."

Yuugi and Yami gaped; they exchanged quick glances and then looked away from each other just as quickly, both of their faces growing red.

"And let me tell you," Ranko said in a low, threatening voice. She grabbed the collar of Yami's shirt and dragged him down. "If you do not make up with Yuugi by then and clear up this little mishap, I will make your life hell, do you understand me?"

Yami gulped and nodded.

Ranko pushed Yami away and whenever he regained his balance, Ranko was smiling again. "Alright, let's get back to work, shall we?"

"Ranko…" Axel said in a reminded tone. "Remember what we have to do today?"

"Oh yeah!" Ranko said, snapping her fingers. "Today we are going to do something fun!"

"Are we going to…?" Marik began but Ranko quickly cut him off.

"If you were about to make a joke about pushing me off a cliff or duck taping my mouth shut than you better say it a little louder so I can hear," Ranko said, her voice low and her eyes hard.

Yuugi shivered; she could be scary when she wanted to be.

Marik clicked his tongue and shoved his hands in his pockets; Malik smacked his arm.

"What we're going to do," Axel continued, picking up where Ranko left off as Vortex guided the fuming girl away from Marik before she hit him. "You guys are going to be fit today so you know what that means. No gaining weight, no losing weight. You have to stay in the shape you're in."

"Yami, you're going to love your costumes," Vortex said, returning without Ranko.

Yuugi briefly wondered where Ranko went but decided that it was probably best he didn't know.

"Oh joy," Yami said, just anticipating where was picked out for him, based on the script.

"Try and sound a little more excited, would you?" Jounouchi said, chuckling softly.

Yami elbowed Jounouchi's side.

"Save the rivalry for when you have to fight over Yuugi," Vortex said, grinning wide.

Yami and Jounouchi looked at each other and then behind to see Yuugi standing there awkwardly.

Axel and Vortex laughed.

* * *

"You have to go over your lines, Yami," Japas continued to persist from the couch as Yami ran around his apartment getting ready for something. He nearly tripped over his cat more than once.

"I can't, Japas," Yami said.

The girl grabbed the script from the table and began to flip through it. "Why not?"

"Because I have a date."

Japas threw the script down back on the coffee table, scaring the cat. "What?" she cried, jumping to her feet. "You have a date? You do not have time to date right now, you're very busy! Who is it? Do I know this person?"

"It's Yuugi," Yami called from his room.

"Yuugi?" She made a face.

"Yeah, you know, from the movie."

"I know who you're talking about," she said bitterly, falling back on the couch. "I don't like him, Yami."

"What?" Yami cried in shock. He went out into the living room and threw his sister a look. "Why? He's not that bad, he's actually really nice."

"He disrespects you, Yami!" Japas cried, rising from her seat again and stalking over to her brother.

"What?" Yami asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I know about that argument you had with him on the first day of read throughs and he had no right to speak to you like that when you did nothing wrong!"

Yami rubbed his temples tiredly. "Japas, you don't understand. You obviously don't know the whole story or you misheard like you always do! It was a misunderstanding between Yuugi and I. That's why we're going on this date; to clear this up and to get more comfortable around each other. And he had every right to be upset because I was rude first."

Japas put her hands on her hips. "You were being professional!"

"_No_," Yami persisted, "I was acting like a jerk! Japas, you're my sister and I love you, and I'm happy that you feel like you always need to defend me but please, just…stop! I can take care of myself; I'm an adult!"

"Have you forgotten that I am not only your sister but also your manager? You can't do anything without me!" Japas cried.

Yami sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "I can't talk to you right now; you won't even listen to me!"

"Yami…!" Japas tried but couldn't quite find the words.

"Listen, I'm going to be late so I have to go." He grabbed his coat and began to walk to the door. He looked over his shoulder and said, "Japas, please, I really like Yuugi and I want to be friends with him, so can you please just stay out of this?" With that said, he closed the door behind him.

Japas blew out a sigh and fell back on the couch. She raked her fingers through her hair tiredly. Yami's cat jumped onto the couch beside her and pawed at her leg, letting out a soft, "mew." Japas looked up and smiled down at the cat.

She stroked its soft fur and it plopped down on its side, purring. "I can't help but want to protect him. I mean, is that a crime? It's strange that the younger sibling wants to protect the older, huh? That's just how I've always been."

The cat didn't appear to be listening, it just rolled over on its back. Japas laughed and began to pet its stomach. "What do you think?" Japas asked. "Should I give Yuugi a chance?"

The cat peaked its eyes open and meowed again.

"Hmm…I'll take that as a 'yes,' I suppose?" The cat rolled back over and got up, stretching, and then jumping off the couch for food. Japas laughed again. "Alright, I get it, first I have to apologize to him for trying to fire him, huh?"

* * *

Yuugi and Yami were walking through the park after eating dinner. It was very relaxing and they had talked and cleared up the situation of what happened on the first day. Yuugi laughed as Yami retold a story of whenever he was in college and he fell off the theater stage and landed on a drum.

"Oh my, God, I never thought you to be a klutz," Yuugi said, giggling.

"Well, it wasn't all my fault," Yami said, smiling. "A lot of people were running around stage and I happened to be in someone's way and I got pushed off. That wasn't even the worst part though."

"What was the worst part?" Yuugi asked.

"It was during the actual performance," Yami said.

"Oh my, God!" Yuugi exclaimed, beginning to giggle again.

"You know, I had a really fun time tonight," Yami said after Yuugi had recovered from his laughing fit.

"I was going to say the same thing."

"You're actually really cool, Yuugi, and really nice too," Yami said, looking down at his feet as they walked.

Yuugi fought back a blush, but managing to say, "Did you expect me to be any other way?"

Yami laughed. "No…I've always admired you, Yuugi."

"Well, thank you, I admire you too; you are an excellent person to work with," Yuugi said.

Yami shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I mean…" Yami sighed. "I don't know how to…say it. I admire you as an actor, I think that you are really good. I've seen all the movies you've been in, big or smile. Whether you were just an extra or not."

Yuugi felt his face growing red. "Oh…th-thank you. If its any consolation, when I found out that I was going to be working with Yami Sennen, I was really excited. Because I really do love you…" Yuugi realized what he had just said and began to wave his arms frantically. "N-no! That's not what I meant! I mean…I love you as a…a fan."

Yami laughed, his face also a little warm. "I got what you meant. And when you finally met me, what did you think?"

Yuugi shrugged. "I didn't really know what to say. You're my idol, what does one say to their idol?"

Yami had on a thoughtful expression. "What you're saying is pretty nice."

Yuugi laughed and nudged Yami.

"Yuugi…what do you say about doing this again sometime?" Yami asked. "You know, hanging out like this between work?"

Yuugi beamed. "I'd like that."

From the bushes, not too far from where Yuugi and Yami were, Ranko and Axel and Vortex were crouched behind a bush watching them.

"Alright! Mission complete!" Ranko said in a hushed whisper.

Vortex sighed. "Was it really necessary to follow them on their date?"

"Yes!" Axel and Ranko cried together.

Vortex rolled her eyes. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

-/-

**Ranko: Sorry for the short, lame chapter guys! My muse fountain has been dry lately!**

**Yami: We hoped that you enjoyed this chapter and you're not the only one who is hoping for things to pick up soon!**

**Yuugi: Review and tell Ranko what you thought or what you want to see happen next!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ranko: Just for the record, I had every intention to update on all of my stories last week!**

**Yuugi: Then she saw how long it has been since she updated The Phantom…**

**Yami: Yikes. **

**Ranko: My words exactly! So between homework and watching Attack on Titan, I wrote the second chapter to The Phantom! Took longer than I thought…**

**Yuugi: So let's see what Ranko has in store for us this chapter, shall we?**

**Yami: Wasn't this the chapter with the time skip, Ranko?**

**Ranko: Hmm…possible, I guess we'll find out! But first, let's answer some reviews!**

**gotenmalfoy:**** Thank you, lovely! Also, I just want to let you know that I haven't forgotten about you ;)**

**lilyflower666:**** He-he… ^^" Sorry? Anyway, thank you for being so awesome and reviewing and making me smile =D**

**Zeladious:**** I love that you put quotes around "idiots" but we truly are ^_^ Well, in Ryou's defense, I don't think dying is such a great thing either.  
**

**hikari no senshi17:**** No, you're the best! =D And there is not doubt that school is going to make me lose my sanity, but then again, I can't lost something I never had, right? I think that I'm going to like Japas!**

**VortexValkyrie:**** Accept it, Scar ;) Is it sad that the first thing of thought of when I saw Scar was not from the Lion King but FMA? Anyway, I want to write more of Yami and Yuugi dating time!**

**Great:**** That is what I was thinking too! For some reason, I can't just write them happy, I have to add drama in there too, no matter how hard I try. **

**Mana's Madness:**** I have no shame in being a stalker ;) I know what you mean, I want more puzzleshipping cuteness!**

**ultimatedragonballzfan:**** First off, beautiful penname. Second off, I know I'm cool ;) no I'm not, I'm a dork . I can't imagine Yami and Yuugi fighting either but that seems to be the only way I can write them =/**

**FeminineFerocious:**** I plan on it :)**

**Yuugi: I believe those are all of them.**

**Ranko: I feel like saying something sentimental. After The Shadow Game series ended, I thought that people would stop following me and reading my work and it just brings a smile to my face when I read all of your loving reviews. So I just wanted to say thank you. **

**Yami: Ranko twin owns nothing!**

**Ranko: Enjoy!**

-/-

"What did you do to my friends?" Yuugi asked Yami with a quivering voice.

Yami smiled whimsically. "They're upstairs, scattered around the house. Waiting for their nightmare, and waiting for you. You will find them as you go through the Game."

"As _I_ go?" Yuugi asked stupidly. "Look, I have no idea what's going—"

"You're the main player in this game you know," Yami interrupted. "You'll find your friends and help them through their nightmares. You see there is a door at the top of the house that leads back to your world. If you get to it, you can go home. And since I'm feeling generous, if you can get your friends with you, all of you can go home." Yami chuckled. "And that is a big_ if_."

Yuugi didn't even register the last sentence; there was still one thing on his mind. "Where's Jounouchi? What did you do to him?"

Yami snarled. "Your precious Jounouchi is at the top," Yami practically spit out that sentence. "I will be giving him my special attention. But don't worry, you will see him when you get there – if you get there," he corrected himself.

"Please, I don't want to play any games," Yuugi said pathetically. It was a surprise to hear those words uttered from his own lips. Yuugi? Not wanting to play a game? "I don't know what's going on, but—,"

"But if you don't there," Yami continued, completely ignoring what Yuugi just said. "And I win, then you have to stay here with me – as mine."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Yuugi asked, terrified at the look in Yami's eyes.

"I mean," Yami spoke slowly, as if speaking to a child. "That you stay here, in my world, with me."

Now, at this moment, Yuugi was supposed to stare deeply into Yami's eyes and look terrified; that is what the script called for after all. But as soon as Yuugi looked up and saw that utterly serious look in Yami's eyes, he was gone. He couldn't help but crack a grin; he couldn't even look at him! Seeing Yami this serious was weird! Then he was laughing.

Soon Yami was laughing with him.

However, Ranko and Axel were not laughing; Vortex thought that it was the funniest thing ever just to see her two partners this upset or stressed out.

"Yuugi!" Ranko groaned. "What are you doing?"

Yuugi quickly composed himself, still giggling though. "I'm sorry, I just can't take him seriously though!"

"Yuugi, how long have we been working on filming?" Ranko asked, completely ignoring Yuugi's explanation.

Yuugi sighed; he knew where this was going. "Two weeks."

Ranko shook her head. "No, it has been one week and four days," she said. "But that doesn't matter at the moment, does it? What matters is that we have to have this scene _today_! Today!"

Yuugi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose; he had noticed a few things whilst working with Ranko. One was that when she was stressed out, she was the definition of bitch. And the second thing is that when Ranko is a bitch, she is very bipolar and brings up things that don't matter to anyone else but in her little mind, they make sense.

Axel crossed her arms over her chest and looked thoughtfully into the middle-distance. "You know, we could always bring in that one girl that auditioned for Yuugi, I thought that she was pretty good."

Yuugi gulped; he didn't like it when they joked about replacing him. It made him think of Japas. Of course, Japas and him were on good terms now, if one would consider good terms not getting into each other's business and not speaking with each other when they couldn't help it.

"No!" Ranko argued. "We decided that Yuugi would be played by a boy! Not a girl made to look like a boy!"

"But Yuugi looks like a girl!" Axel rebutted.

"This may be true," Ranko agreed. "But it is still the principal of the thing!"

As Axel and Ranko got into a very in depth conversation about how the movie should be cast—even though it already was—Vortex sighed and rolled her eyes. She walked over to Yami and Yuugi, smiling apologetically at them.

"I'm sorry, guys. Take five while I sort these two out."

As she said that, Yuugi noticed her left eye twitch a little bit. He pursed his lips and speed walked out of there.

As soon as they got out, Yami and Yuugi stopped, stared at each other, and started laughing again. For no reason at all, they just laughed to laugh. At the whole situation, at Ranko and Axel's attitudes, about Vortex scary eye twitch. They found the whole thing very enjoyable.

Yes, Yami and Yuugi were now good friends. There bad past was behind them. And yes, Yuugi still had a crush on Yami. Not that he would ever tell his co-star this, of course. He would sooner die of embarrassment; also, the last thing he wanted was for Japas to find out. He shivered at just the thought of it.

Though, he couldn't help but think how nice it would be if he and Yami were to maybe…possibly…hopefully get together. Perhaps if things worked out between them then they could actually be something. He always wanted to fall in love with someone he worked close to, call him a hopeless romantic.

He knew it was silly for him to have a crush, especially at his age. He wasn't a teenager anymore; this is ridiculous! But he still couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach whenever Yami held his hand or looked over his shoulder to read his script or even just stare at him. Was he pathetic? He didn't really care; at this moment, he didn't care if he and Yami were just friends or lovers, all he wanted was to stay close to him.

While he was off on his own thoughts he didn't even realize the object of his affection had been talking to him this whole time.

"I'm telling you, Yuugi, you should have been there. Whenever Jounouchi started chasing pigeons in the park…" Yami laughed. "It was great."

Yuugi couldn't help but laugh even though he didn't hear the whole story.

"Actually, what was better than that was when Ranko tried to follow a squirrel up a tree." Yami laughed to himself. "She can't even climb! I don't know what she was thinking! I would hate to see that girl drunk…" Yami shrugged. "But I digress."

Yuugi stopped at what Yami had said. "Ranko was there too?" In his experience, a director usually didn't spend that much time with the actors outside of set.

Yami shrugged again. "Yeah, we just kind of ran into her. She was discussing with an artist for the promotional poster—I think her name was Sozan—and when Ranko saw us she ran up and glomped me."

Yuugi couldn't help but frown; Ranko 'glomped' him.

"I know that sounds weird to use the word 'glomp.' I don't really understand it either but apparently it's a popular thing used in anime, according to Ranko anyway."

There was that name again! Ranko…

"From how much you talk about her, it sounds like you have a crush on her."

Yami sputtered and his face became a deep shade of red. "Wh-what?" he stammered out. "No! Don't be ridiculous! I've known her most of my life, she's like a little sister. An annoying little sister," he muttered to himself. "No, I don't have a crush on her…"

'The way you won't look me in the eye begs to differ,' Yuugi thought to himself.

"Hey guys," Vortex called, appearing in the hall behind them. "Can you come back in now? We're ready to start filming again."

Yami and Yuugi both nodded and followed Vortex in. Yuugi spoke all of the lines he memorized but his mind was still on the conversation he had with Yami. He said he didn't have a crush on Ranko, but his expression said something different.

'I guess I should have known from the beginning,' Yuugi thought as Yami's character went off on a monologue. 'No man that is that attractive could be anything but straight. And considering how much time he spends with Ranko, I'm surprised I didn't realize it sooner.'

Just because he came to grasps with it, did not mean that his heart hurt when he thought of Ranko and Yami being together.

"But why me? Why are you doing this to me?"

"I love you."

Yuugi only wished that Yami could actually tell him that without this invisibly barrier that has been created by their characters.

After finishing shooting that scene, a few of the other actors came in to shoot scenes that involved them. Yuugi wandered around aimlessly, done for the day but not ready to go home.

He peaked into make-up and saw Ryou sitting in one of the chairs having his hair done. He was chatting with another man who was currently having his face brushed down with powder. Yuugi didn't really recognize him, but when he turned his face he noticed a rather large scar running down the left side of his face.

Yuugi drew in a sharp breath from his nose.

Ryou noticed him through the mirror and smiled friendly. "Oh, hey," he said, getting up. "I didn't know you were still here."

Yuugi tried to keep his eyes on Ryou the whole time but his eyes kept drifting back to the man with the scar who was nonchalantly sitting back in his chair, his skinny-jean clad legs crossed.

"Y-yeah, I just wanted to see some shooting done."

Ryou smiled and shrugged. "Nothing wrong with that." They both heard Axel call Ryou's name and the boy in question giggled. "Well, I guess that's my cue. Stick around, okay?"

"Yeah," he said, waving goodbye as Ryou practically skipped away.

Now he was alone with the scary scar-man.

"Um, hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hey Yuugi," the man said.

Yuugi jumped almost jumped out of his skin when he immediately recognized the voice. "Bakura?" he asked disbelievingly, his voice jumping up a whole octave.

Bakura smirked at Yuugi. "The one and only."

Yuugi put a hand to his mouth as he walked closer to Bakura. "Oh, my…" He leaned in closer to take a closer look at his face. This couldn't be Bakura! His skin was tan and his hair was shorter and his scar… "I didn't know you were double-roled."

Bakura groaned; he obviously didn't like the idea at all. "Yeah, the Trouble Trio are very…conservative."

Yuugi giggled. "The Trouble Trio?"

Bakura shrugged. "I actually just came up with that now."

"I like it," Yuugi said.

Bakura grinned and rested his eyes, leaning back a little bit more. Yuugi still stood over him, staring right at the scar. It looked real! He wished that he could…

"You can touch it if you want," Bakura suddenly said, startling Yuugi.

"R-Really? Can I?" Yuugi asked hopefully.

Bakura shrugged, his eyes still closed. "Sure."

Yuugi felt excitement bubble up in his chest as he hesitantly reached out his hand to Bakura's face. His fingers hovered over the scar for a moment before he carefully put them down. It was kind of squishy…

He drew his hand back to his chest quickly, shuddering at the weird feeling.

"Oh my, God!" he exclaimed, backing away as if Bakura were an unpleasant bug. "What is that?"

Bakura literally laughed out loud, his laughter shaking his whole frame so much that the make-up artist had to take a step back. "I don't really know! But its cool, huh?" he said, touching the fake scar delicately.

"No, its not!" Yuugi shrieked, even though he wouldn't admit it. He was a man, damn it!

"What's going on in here?"

Yuugi drew in another sharp breath. Yami; he was the last person he wanted to see right now. He put his head down to avoid any sort of eye contact.

"Oh, nothing," Bakura said, still chuckling.

Yami raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Okay, then…" He walked farther into the room and stopped in front of Bakura, across from Yuugi. "Nice makeup, Bakura."

Bakura laughed again.

Yami rolled his eyes. "I just needed to ask Yuugi something." He smiled up at Yuugi but that smile fell when he saw the Yuugi was avoiding eye contact with him. "Um, Yuugi, I was wondering if you wanted to head out and grab a bite to eat with me."

Yuugi simply shook his head. "No thanks, I'm busy."

"Oh…okay then," he said awkwardly. He turned on his heel and walked out, feeling like an idiot. He passed Ryou in the doorway, heading back to get Bakura. Yami heard this:

"Bakura, we need you on set."

"I'm coming, I'm coming…"

"Oh yeah, Yuugi, would you like to grab some dinner with us when we're done here?"

"That sounds great, I would love to."

Yami stopped dead in his tracks and just stood there, staring blankly at the floor. …What?

* * *

Yami sighed heavily over his hamburger.

Jounouchi sat across from him, sipping from his drink and staring at Yami staring at his hamburger like it held the mysteries of life. "You know, if you're not going to eat that, I will."

Yami sighed and pushed his tray across the table to Jounouchi.

Jounouchi's eyebrows went to his hairline. "Alright, what's eating you? You're acting like a girl that just went through a bad breakup."

Yami sighed again and put his face in his hands. "Shut up," he said, though his voice was muffled.

"Seriously, dude, what's up?"

Silence. "Yuugi."

Jounouchi cocked an eyebrow. "Huh? What did Yuugi do?"

Yami leaned back and stared out the window. "He didn't do anything, that's the problem."

Jounouchi took a big bite of Yami's burger. "I'm not following," he said, talking past the food.

"I asked Yuugi if he wanted to go out after work and he said no, but when Ryou asked him out to eat he said yes." He groaned and threw his head back. "I don't understand! Did I do something to upset him?"

Jounouchi shoved a few fries in his mouth while he was listening to Yami. He swallowed and said mockingly, "That's so cute, you like Yuugi."

"What?" Yami cried out at Jounouchi's random statement.

"Don't deny it!" Jounouchi exclaimed, waving a fry in Yami's face. "You like Yuugi! You're jealous! You're concerned about what he thinks! You try to be your best around him. If that is not at least infatuation, I don't know what is." He stuffed the fry in his mouth and continued talking. "Nothing wrong with that! I don't judge! But please, stop acting like an anime character! Stop telling me your sorrows and just tell Yuugi how you feel! It's not going to kill you!"

Yami blinked at Jounouchi's outburst. "Jounouchi, I'm a grown-ass man; you really want me to act like a high schooler again confess my love dramatically on top of a school roof at sunset?"

Jounouchi smirked and leaned back as well. "Yes."

Yami groaned and ran his hands down his face.

"Listen, Yami, I've know Yuugi for a long time," Jounouchi said. "He is one of my closest friends. I want him to be happy, and let me tell you something, he is not going to be happy if you continue to be this way and not act on these feelings."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "You realize the words that just came out of your mouth sound like they came from a cheesy, poorly-written fanfic right?"

"You're avoiding the subject!" A fry was shot in Yami's direction.

"I know, Jounouchi!" Yami cried, narrowly missing the first fry only to be hit in the face with another one. "I just don't know how!"

Jounouchi sighed and got up out of the booth. "You've been in enough romance movies before, Yami. Figure it out."

With that said, Jounouchi left Yami alone to contemplate his thoughts alone.

-/-

**Ranko: I hope this was worth the wait! It was a whole bunch of fun to write!**

**Yuugi: Next chapter starts Yami's attempts at trying to win me over!**

**Yami: If Ranko remembers to write the chapter like that. **

**Ranko: Again, open to any and all suggestions that come from my readers! Anything you want to see (besides a lemon) shall be done!**

**Yuugi: Also, if you haven't seen it yet, the cover art for Checkmate is out! **

**Ranko: Yep! For the best clarity though, please visit Sozan-Uzumaki's page on deviantart and show her some love! She is so awesome and so talented and if you're reading this Sozan: 3 ^^**

**Yami: So…review if you feel like it. **


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